Light Heavyweights

The Matchup: With nine first-round finishes -- all
but one coming by knockout -- to his credit outside of the Octagon,
Manuwa entered his UFC debut with a reputation as a headhunter. The
heavy-handed Brit lived up to his billing against Kyle
Kingsbury, landing punches, kicks and knees while damaging his
foe’s eye and rendering him unable to continue after the second
round.

“Poster Boy” has yet to go the distance in 12 professional bouts,
and his spotty conditioning was evident in the second frame against
Kingsbury, who was able to score multiple takedowns and pass guard
with ease despite having absorbed serious punishment in round
one.

Diabate, meanwhile, has compiled a modest resume with the Las
Vegas-based promotion, garnering victories over Luiz Cane,
Steve
Cantwell, Tom DeBlass
and Chad
Griggs. None of the aforementioned fighters are currently
listed on the UFC’s 205-pound roster, however, so it is not as if
the Frenchman has been storming through a murderer’s row of
competition.

In defeat, Diabate has struggled against opponents who can
out-grapple him, as he was submitted by both Alexander
Gustafsson and Anthony
Perosh in the UFC. Even DeBlass had some success early against
“The Snake” in their UFC on Fuel TV 2 encounter before tiring over
the contest’s final 10 minutes.

Luckily for Diabate, Manuwa has not shown much of a penchant for
the ground game. The Keddles Gym representative moves forward with
the confidence of someone with serious knockout power, but he does
have a tendency to leave his hands low as he attacks. Manuwa’s left
hook is especially dangerous, but he will also throw head kicks and
knees to vary his offense. The powerfully built 32-year-old is
strong in the clinch, where he can land knees to the head and
body.

A muay Thai kickboxing specialist, Diabate is no stranger to
throwing knees. The southpaw will have a 5.5-inch reach advantage,
which could allow him to time his strikes outside of the pocket
rather than testing Manuwa’s power. Manuwa has also been
susceptible to leg kicks, something the 6-foot-6 Diabate should use
to slow his foe’s movement.

The Pick: The longer the fight goes, the more it
favors Diabate. If he can survive Manuwa’s initial onslaught, he
will be primed to finish the bout with a flourish in rounds two and
three. Diabate wins by decision.